Most of us meander through life with purpose and some fore-thought, but how many of us are really prepared for the ugly twists and turns that life can throw in our paths....

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As anyone who is at all involved with the trucking industry knows our livelihood depends on our license and our ability to drive. Recently a very good friend of mine had life throw him a curve ball. And as with most of these detours it was totally unexpected and definitely not planned for. He had just returned from taking his daughter to one of her functions and felt a little odd, next thing he knew he is in the care of a paramedic and on his way to hospital after having suffered from a grand mal seizure-also known as a tonic-clonic seizure. This happened out of the blue and after a full battery of tests no cause could be determined. He had suffered from a bout with pneumonia and it was thought that this may have been the trigger. Well just a short time later while doing some renovation work around the house he reached down for a tape measure and once again found himself on his way to hospital as he had suffered another seizure.

Now this last episode not only meant he was restricted from driving but that his driving privileges are now suspended and his livelihood, driving, is now a thing of the past. Getting just a regular drivers license back will require a lot of tests and clear results over an extended period of time -- the hope of ever holding a commercial license again is so remote as to be non-existent. In the flash of an instant his ability to work and earn a living at his chosen profession was brought to an end.

How many of us are in the same boat in that if anything was to happen to our main source of income we would be up against a wall scrambling to come up with a replacement for that loss. Do any of us have a contingency plan for such a drastic occurrence in our lives. How many who have thought of this type of happenstance have a plan that doesn't require them to perform with the same skills they now possess (i.e. Long haul driver to heavy equipment operator or carpenter to plumber). For if the backup plan requires the same skill sets you have now that alternative may be up in smoke as well.

In looking over my vocation I find that like most I would be totally unprepared if a situation like this was to arise in my life. I have been publishing here on Quikonnex now for a short time and find that it is something I not only enjoy but also something that doesn't require the same skill sets I use in my main employment and so here I feel is where I must plan and cultivate this field of enjoyment into an alternative source of income for myself and my family. As age creeps up on me I realize that being able to perform at my best in my present profession lessens as each year passes so in time a change may be necessary anyway. I feel therefore it will be to my best advantage to make the plan now and ease the transition over the next few years than to have a catastrophic incident force me into a position where I must field a career change at a time that would cause great amounts of stress and financial woes to myself and my family.

Here I must once again take my hat off to the founders of Quikonnex (Jim Gray and Carolyn Peltier) for providing a place where I am able to pursue this change in the most comfortable and informative environment found anywhere on the internet and to my fellow publishers who are always there to share their knowledge and help one find their way through what could be a jungle if not for their input.

In retrospect I can only say that from where I sit it is never to soon nor to late to plan for the curves that may lie in wait for any of us. Do yourself a favor and be an informed player in any changes your life may take and not a spectator till necessity requires you to become a player. If you wait to long that thin line we walk each day between life and insanity may become blurred by anxiety and the feeling of hopelessness and far to hard to navigate.

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